Celgene Had Top Fundamentals; Bullish In Early 2013

A strong year for the market in 2013 resulted in plenty of big moves by high-quality growth stocks. It's no surprise that their moves started the way they often do — by breaking out of bases in heavy volume soon after a market follow-through.

The Nasdaq confirmed a new market uptrend just after Thanksgiving in 2012. In the weeks that followed, several growth stocks with top fundamentals emerged. LinkedIn (LNKD), Netflix (NFLX) and Lumber Liquidators (LL), profiled in this space in recent days, were early movers. So was Celgene (CELG), a longtime leader in the biotech industry.

Why feature these companies now? You can learn a lot by studying winners.

Celgene cleared a cup-with-handle pattern in early January, passing a buy point of 82.88. At the time, it was a mainstay in the IBD Big Cap 20 list of leading large-cap stocks. On Jan. 8, it was No. 1 on the list with a Composite Rating of 98 and an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A-. Fundamentals were solid and the stock was showing relative strength — two key ingredients of an emerging leader.

The month of January had no shortage of positive headline flow for Celgene.

On Jan. 7, the company offered bullish revenue guidance for 2013. CEO Robert Hugin forecast total product sales of more than $6 billion. He said revenue would double by 2017 thanks to several news drugs in development.

The stock broke out of an eight-week base on July 11, then from a flat base in September. Those breakouts helped Celgene continue its advance.

Celgene is best known for its blood cancer drug Revlimid. In June, the drug received additional approval from the Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma.

In the third quarter, Revlimid generated sales of $1.09 billion, up 12% from a year ago. It made up nearly two-thirds of total revenue.

Another key drug for Celgene is Abraxane, used to treat lung and breast cancers. In September, the FDA also approved the drug to treat patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Third-quarter sales of Abrazane jumped 60% to $170 million.

Apremilast is doing well in late-stage trials as treatment for patients with psoriatic arthritis.

A strong year for the market in 2013 resulted in plenty of big moves by high-quality growth stocks. It's no surprise that their moves started the way they often do — by breaking out of bases in heavy volume soon after a market follow-through.

The Nasdaq confirmed a new market uptrend just after Thanksgiving in 2012. In the weeks that followed, several growth stocks with top fundamentals emerged. LinkedIn (LNKD), Netflix (NFLX) and Lumber Liquidators (LL), profiled in this space in recent days, were early movers. So was Celgene (CELG), a longtime leader in the biotech industry.

Why feature these companies now? You can learn a lot by studying winners.

Celgene cleared a cup-with-handle pattern in early January, passing a buy point of 82.88. At the time, it was a mainstay in the IBD Big Cap 20 list of leading large-cap stocks. On Jan. 8, it was No. 1 on the list with a Composite Rating of 98 and an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A-. Fundamentals were solid and the stock was showing relative strength — two key ingredients of an emerging leader.

The month of January had no shortage of positive headline flow for Celgene.

On Jan. 7, the company offered bullish revenue guidance for 2013. CEO Robert Hugin forecast total product sales of more than $6 billion. He said revenue would double by 2017 thanks to several news drugs in development.

The stock broke out of an eight-week base on July 11, then from a flat base in September. Those breakouts helped Celgene continue its advance.

Celgene is best known for its blood cancer drug Revlimid. In June, the drug received additional approval from the Food and Drug Administration to treat patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma.

In the third quarter, Revlimid generated sales of $1.09 billion, up 12% from a year ago. It made up nearly two-thirds of total revenue.

Another key drug for Celgene is Abraxane, used to treat lung and breast cancers. In September, the FDA also approved the drug to treat patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Third-quarter sales of Abrazane jumped 60% to $170 million.

Apremilast is doing well in late-stage trials as treatment for patients with psoriatic arthritis.

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03/02/2015 04:22 PM ET

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